


so come away, starting today

by LostOnMyRoad



Series: Sky above and city below [2]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Mj gets some brief moments, Mutual Pining, Peter is a disaster but so is Johnny, Questionable Attempts at Humor, The good shit, also the Fantastic Four are pure, cameos from a lot of Peter's friends, gwen gets some mentioning too (but she’s dead so), i feel like this classified as medium burn, i love her and y’all should know that, i've been on a bit of a spiderman rampage lately, its ok they deserve each other, its the classic friends to lovers story, more Johnny and Peter content, please comment so i can know what i'm doing right and what i'm doing wrong, they are the good influences peter needs in his life, this is not mcu compliant, why fix it if it ain't broke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-09-16 05:57:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16948314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostOnMyRoad/pseuds/LostOnMyRoad
Summary: Johnny meets Spider-man for the first time when Spider-man is bleeding out in an alleyway. The Parker Luck is inescapable.Or the one where Peter bleeds all over the Baxter building carpet and Johnny falls in love.





	1. in a different place

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all enjoy more spideytorch content pls comment thx  
> title from the song Eastside  
> also, find me on tumblr, I'm LostOnMyRoad

The end of the alley is as far as he gets before the webbing is too filled with blood for it to hold. He props himself on the wall, holding the wound closed, and stares at the sky for a good long minute. Well, what he can see of the sky anyway. The lenses were cracked (how? Ock must have hit them with his tentacles when he was slumped over the wrecked building) and he’s seeing double. He tries to pick at the gash in his side, but with the mask on he can’t see enough to know whether he’s peeling away at the webbing or the suit. Wonderful.

So, mask on, and die through blood loss, or mask off, and risk being spotted? He freezes with his hand hovering over the mask, knowing he’ll regret his decision either way.

Peter takes the mask off, because, what could possibly go wrong? The alley is dark, it’s midnight, and nobody in their right mind would be here after a Venom attack.

Something clatters against the ground further in front of him, a good ten feet away. It’s Stark tech, or maybe a Baxter prototype, he’s too out of it to tell. Somebody’s standing there. Peter manages to look up into their face.

Well. Nobody in their right mind would be here after a Venom attack except the Human Torch. Of course.

“Oh,” Peter manages. Then more quietly, “Shit.”

Johnny Storm stares back at him, looking more and more confused by the second. Peter wishes the ground could swallow him whole. So much regret. He can’t even slide his mask back on, the pain is so bad.

“You’re…Spider-Man.”

There’s no point in hiding it now, so Peter nods. “The one and only.”

“And that was Venom?”

Peter tries to stop a shudder at the name. “Yeah. The one and only.”

Johnny leans down slowly and lights his hand on fire. Suddenly, the alley is awash with light. Peter can see the full extent of the damage. Johnny can too, which is probably why he scrunches his eyebrows and whistles low. Then, without another word he starts carefully peeling away the suit and prodding at the gash. Peter can’t hide the wince.

“This doesn’t look so hot.”

Peter snorts. “You think?”

Johnny glares at him but doesn’t otherwise respond to the barb. “You need medical.”

“I think we all need a little medical.”

“Did you hit your head?”

“I hit…something. Lots of things. Possibly my head.”

“That’s so helpful.”

“That’s me. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-man. Very helpful. I’m pretty sure I’ve got five stars on Yelp.”

Johnny sighs. “Look, this conversation has been…illuminating—no, I didn’t mean that as a pun, stop it—but I’d rather have it when you aren’t bleeding out on the ground.”

Peter finger guns and manages a “Whatever you say, Torch.” Then he tries to get himself off the ground. Which is a lot harder then it seems, especially when his vision starts to go wonky around the edges and he can’t quite remember which way is up anymore. Torch watches him struggle for a few seconds before sighing for the hundredth time and grabbing him by the arm and pulling it around his shoulders so that Peter is being half-carried. 

“I don’t suppose we could pretend this never happened.”

“Sorry man, this is blackmail.”

Peter groans, and Johnny laughs.

“This isn’t so bad, for a first meeting.”

Johnny nods. “I imagined it with a lot less bleeding though. More action. It would definitely end in me saving your sorry behind.”

“Keep dreaming.”

They keep moving.

They manage to somehow get to the Baxter building, and then Johnny slips Peter’s mask back on his face. He swipes a card of some sort on the keypad near the door and they’re inside.

“They’re, uh, going to notice you in the building no matter what, so I figured we might as well go through the front entrance.”

They do manage to get into the personal quarters section of the building before anyone notices them though. Unfortunately, Peter’s brain decides that the hallway is the perfect place to check out. He starts blacking out.

“Spider-man, I swear, I don’t even know your name, what am I supposed to do if you die—”

Johnny’s voice cuts out abruptly when he finally loses consciousness.

 

 

Johnny does not appreciate vigilante heroes who pass out in his arms. He might a little, actually. He can feel Spider-man’s biceps. He’s just about to see if the abs are just as solid (and check on, you know, the bleeding) when Sue walks into the hallway. 

 She screams, and Johnny takes a moment to realize that he is, a, covered in a vigilante’s blood, and b, still holding said vigilante. Of course, her scream brings Ben and Reed, who each do a double take when they take in the scene.

“This isn’t what it looks like, I swear, I didn’t murder him—”

“Murder? Johnny, what are you—”

“Is he alive? Isn’t that Spider-Man? You murdered Spider-Man?”

“Oh my god no, Ben, I didn’t murder Spider-Man, I saved him, why would you think that—”

“I can’t believe I thought my brother murdered Spider-Man—”

“You were the one who brought up murder, Johnny, it’s a perfectly logical assumption—”

“STOP TALKING,” Reed yells, and everyone falls silent. “Johnny, would you care to explain?”

He’s doing the whole raised eyebrow stern face that he picked up from Sue. Its adorable. And terrifying.

He gives them a quick rundown of what had happened while he pulls out bandages and scissors. He can’t see Spidey’s face, but when he’d seen it in the alleyway it had been pale and bruised. He knows that he’s not in good condition. Sue starts helping him patch up Spider-man as he talks. It’s not a long story, and soon they’re left with a semi-comatose but bandaged Spider-man and comfortable silence.

“Did you get to see what was under the mask?”

He hesitates before nodding.

Ben waits for a moment, clearly expecting more of an explanation. When Johnny doesn’t start talking again, he asks, “Still got that crush?”

Immediately Johnny goes red in the face. “What crush? In your dreams, Ben. It’s not like he has the face of an angel or anything like that.”

Sue cocks her head.

Johnny buries his face in his hands. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

Reed sighs. Reed has probably where Johnny has picked up the habit of sighing from now that he thinks about it. He hasn’t met anybody who sighs as much as Reed does. Then again, he does have to deal with Johnny and Ben on a daily basis.

Spider-Man groans from the bed they’ve got him on. Sue puts her hand on his forehead, before remembering the mask is still on his face. She’s got a strange look on her face. Contemplative. Or more like a mother hen. Like she’s planning on adopting Spider-Man into her already strange enough family.

“Do you trust him, Johnny?” she says softly. “There are people who think he’s killed. That he’s a murderer. That he was involved in Norman Osborn’s murder.”

Johnny thinks about the pale, bleeding twenty-something he’d found at the end of a dark New York alley.

“I think I do.”


	2. take your old life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from Eastside by Benny Blanco
> 
> Sue finally looks up from her stack of papers. Peter feels himself straightening up under her gaze, like he wants to impress her. Sue seems like she doesn’t quite know what to make of him, like she isn’t sure whether to trust him or not. He doesn’t blame her, considering what gets printed in the Bugle every day. Murderer. Menace. He’s been called so many names they tend to slide off like rain on a windshield. She considers him for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk how long this thing will end up being, but if y'all like it, I can keep it running for a little while  
> pls let me know in the comments what you think

Peter wakes up to Johnny Storm poking him in the abdomen. There’s a moment where they both stare at each other. Then Johnny shoots up so fast he bangs his head into the wall.

Peter can’t help it. He starts laughing, although it turns into wheezing halfway through when the pain in his chest starts flaring up. Johnny looks faintly concerned under the annoyance.

“Anything you want to tell me about?”

Johnny glares. “I was just checking on the wound.”

Peter’s smile fades. He can still feel the pain. He runs a hand through his hair. His hair. Oh, god no.

“Where’s my mask?” he says, and it comes out panicked. “Who saw me? Who—”

Johnny’s serious now. “Just me. I took your mask off after the others left so you wouldn’t, like, suffocate in your sleep.” And so I could see your face again, he adds internally. “You weren’t doing too hot.”

He can feel that. He feels drained. Vague flashes of Venom handing his ass to him replay in the back of his mind. Still, he manages to sit up. “Thanks, Johnny.”

Johnny nods, handing him a glass of water. Peter takes a sip, thanking his lucky stars that its Saturday and Jonah won’t threaten to fire him again. His wallet wouldn’t be able to take it.

Johnny watches him and takes back the glass when he’s done. He’s practically glowing in the shaft of sunlight coming from the window. His hair is shining gold, and he looks like he walked out of one of his hundreds of photoshoots. Peter can feel himself blushing like he’s a teenager again. Johnny notices him staring.

“Like what you see?”

Peter throws the pillow at him in response and hopes his face isn’t too red. “In your dreams.”

Johnny internally sighs. Yes, in his dreams.

Peter meanwhile takes stock of himself. They’ve stitched him up, so he isn’t bleeding all over their carpets, and he’s all bandaged up.

His stomach growls, breaking the little silence. Johnny raises an eyebrow before handing him the mask.

“Why don’t we grab breakfast? You can keep your mask on.”

Peter nods, and they head down to the kitchens.

He still freezes in the doorway, however, when he sees the other Fantastic Four. Sue notices him first and gives him a once-over before shooting a look he can’t decipher at Johnny.

“There’s pancakes if you want them,” she says, turning her attention back to the stack of papers piled on the counter. Her tone is friendly enough, but Peter gets the sense he’s missing something. Johnny is scowling at her, so maybe it isn’t just him who thinks something’s off. Still, free food is free food.

Two minutes later and both Johnny and Sue are staring at him (Sue’s trying to be covert about it, but he can see her gaze flickering between her reports and his plate, and he can see her smile) as he consumes his third plate of pancakes. Johnny looks vaguely nauseous as he pushes him plate towards him. Peter just nods in gratitude and finishes the rest. He leans back in the seat and pats his belly. The pain is still there, but he’s full and warm.

Dr. Richards and The Thing walk in and do a double take when they see him at the counter. Dr. Richards notes the empty plates in from of him and nods, muttering under his breath distractedly about mutant metabolisms and experiments. Then he seems to realize who exactly is sitting at his kitchen counter and his expression goes a little funny. The Thing looks vaguely impressed if Peter is reading his expression right.

“Thank you,” he says, “for letting me stay the night.”

Dr. Richards nods at him. Johnny’s still scowling slightly, so Peter elbows him lightly and cocks his head in a silent question. Johnny just shakes his head in response.

Sue finally looks up from her stack of papers. Peter feels himself straightening up under her gaze, like he wants to impress her. Sue seems like she doesn’t quite know what to make of him, like she isn’t sure whether to trust him or not. He doesn’t blame her, considering what gets printed in the Bugle every day. Murderer. Menace. He’s been called so many names they tend to slide off like rain on a windshield. She considers him for a moment.

“So, Venom. Why is he after you?” she asks, and wow is that straight to the point.

He hesitates for just a second too long before replying. “Alien symbiote that got out of hand. I hosted it once, and now it seems like it’s out to get me.” Eddie Brock is also out to get him, but there’s no way he’s sharing that story with anyone. Sue raises her eyebrows.

He gets the feeling he’s overstaying his welcome, so he says, “I should…get going.”

There’s an awkward pause that runs just a bit too long before Johnny grabs his hand and maneuvers them out of the kitchen. He hands Peter some clothes: a jacket, shirt, jeans, and a scarf. He takes off the mask and puts them on, eyeing the scowl still on Johnny’s face. Johnny notices and sighs, relaxing against the doorjamb.

“They don’t trust you,” he says apologetically. “Nobody seems to quite know what your deal is.”

Peter just nods, too used to the sentiment and too drained to really react. Johnny puts a hand on his shoulder, warm and comforting.

“You’ve got me though. And after all, who else do you really need? New York City’s number one bachelor is—”

Peter shoves him just hard enough that he stumbles, and Johnny laughs, bright and warm. Peter is blushing again. God, he still is a teenager. But it is nice to know that someone is still in his corner. Someone who knows both sides of the mask. He waves goodbye and walks out the door.

Immediately, he misses the warmth of the Baxter building. Pulling the coat tighter around himself he gets on the metro to go home.

\-------

Johnny walks back into the kitchen to find the rest of the Fantastic Four finishing breakfast. He glowers at them, crossing his arms and leaning in the doorway.

Sue picks up on his mood immediately. She bites her lip, before saying “I didn’t mean to make him uncomfortable. But you should know you can’t trust a vigilante who half the city knows as a killer. Even if he seemed like a nice young man.” By the end, she’s got that look in her eyes again like she’d like to adopt Spidey. It isn’t enough to appease him though, and he huffs before walking out and heading to his bedroom, where he throws the window open and jumps out.

He patrols for a while, but his thoughts never wander too far from Spider-man’s face. Spider-man’s angel face. He’d thought his crush couldn’t get any worse, and he was so, so, so wrong. Ben was going to laugh at him forever.

He knows Spider-man is, well, sketchy at best, but there hadn’t been anything malicious about the person he’d found bleeding out in a dark alley. Logically, he knows Sue is trying to protect him, but the irrational part of him smarts under the assumption that he can’t take care of himself.  

He flies a little further before landing on a building and extinguishing his flames. There’s no Spider-man to watch tonight (good, there better not be, the idiot had to heal) so he leans against the bricks and watches over his favorite city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love my two superhero bois


	3. jump in the sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm back!!! sorry for the delay on this chapter lol. Also, thanks y'all for the amazing support! All the comments and kudos are so so so appreciated!!! Like always, feel free to hit me up on tumblr (I have the same username) and chat! Or send me prompts lol, y'all out there have so many great ones
> 
> chapter title is still from Eastside by Benny Blanco

Peter manages to get on the subway ride home with no problem. He crashes at his apartment as soon as he gets there, taking care to avoid the still healing hole in his side. He falls asleep as soon as his body hits the bed.

He wakes up Sunday morning with what feels like a hangover, but with none of the partying usually involved. He changes the bandages with his (always) fully stocked first aid kit and heads back to his bed. Peter flops down and stares at the paint cracking on the ceiling.

So. Johnny Storm, of all people, had uncovered his secret identity. He always figured that Harry would find out. Or you know, Aunt May. He guesses he’s gotten too good at hiding secrets from the people he’s closest to. But he tries not to dwell on that. He forces his thoughts to go a different direction, and they end up circling back to Johnny Storm. Media darling, Fantastic Four member, rolling in dough, and basically everything Peter could never be.

And Johnny Storm was hot. Not that this wasn’t a universally known fact, but now Peter knew it was true up close. Wow.

And he’d eaten breakfast with the Fantastic Four. With Reed Richards and Sue Storm, two of the best scientists of the decade, possibly the century. Of course, the moment he gets to meet his heroes they think he’s a web slinging maniac. And a murderer. The fact that that isn’t the worst thing that’s been printed in the Bugle shows just how much Jonah hates him. He still vividly remembers that one article about Brooklyn. He shudders. It had been followed by an article about how he was supposedly Black Widow’s kid, which had been kind of cool, actually.

Johnny’s apology comes to mind. At least the Human Torch doesn’t seem to think that of him.

He rolls over on his bed, trying to get comfortable. He winces when something digs into his side. It’s his camera. He maneuvers himself so that he’s lying on his back and holds up the camera to flick through the pictures in it. He’d gotten a few good shots of Spider-man this week, not enough to make Jonah happy, but enough to keep his job. Scratch that, Jonah was never happy. The closest Peter had ever seen him to happy was when he was ranting about yours truly. Going back to work on Monday was going to be a pain.

The sound of something exploding in the distance abruptly ends his pity party. He’s halfway out the window when his side erupts in pain, and he slumps against the windowsill. Healing doesn’t usually take this long. Then again, venom is usually the exception to the rule. Running a hand over through his hair, Peter leans as far out the window as he possibly can to try and catch a glimpse of what’s going on. He can see smoke rising in the distance, and crowds escaping from the now rubble filled area.

Then he sees a figure rise above the smoke. It’s glowing, and hurling fireballs in the direction of the villain. It’s Johnny, Peter realizes, and nearly falls out of his apartment. He cranes his neck as far as he can to continue watching the fight. Eventually, Johnny stops hurling fireballs and starts glowing brighter. Grabbing his camera, he zooms in as far as he can with the lens on the Human Torch. He gets a snapshot of Johnny, glowing with the brightness of a star, but with his facial features still visible. He looks determined in the picture, and serious. He looks like a hero, bathed in light.

He looks like he had when he’d been trying to cheer Peter up when he was apologizing for the less-than-stellar breakfast with the Fantastic Four.

Peter lets himself fall back inside the apartment. He leans on the side of the bed and stares at his new picture.

“Oh man,” he mutters to himself. “I am so far gone.”

He decides his sudden realization of love is probably a product of blunt force trauma (thank you Venom) and decides to pass out in his bed. Again.

He wakes up an hour later and decides to make coffee, like caffeine will somehow cure him of making bad life decisions.

Having a sudden romantic awakening has happened to Peter before and ended badly every time.

(Exhibit 1: Gwen. Tragedy #2 in his life.)

(Exhibit 2: M.J. Not that this had ended that badly (she’s a good friend of his now), but the period after the breakup had been. Intense. M.J. has too much dirt on him and knows how to intimidate someone with a toothbrush. Making her angry was probably not a smart move.)

(Exhibit 3: Felicia. He doesn’t even know where to start with that one. Somewhere along _oh my god she’s a criminal_ and _black spandex and leather._ )

So, this time he tries to handle the situation with, you know, logic and grace.

Within the hour he’s in the Spider-man costume and fighting Mysterio. This probably says a lot about him.

 _Why do you think spandex solves all your problems?_ M.J. had asked him once. She knows him too well. She’d been stitching the gash in his arm closed.

He doesn’t remember how he’d responded.

It was probably something dumb.

Mysterio is especially annoying tonight, but Peter is almost finished throwing the final punches when the scene becomes a whole lot brighter.

 _This can’t possibly be happening_ , he thinks, as Johnny lands on the ground next to him. He almost wishes he was concussed and dealing with blood loss again because that would make this whole situation a whole lot easier. _Spandex_ , M.J. says in his mind. _You’re not helping_ , Peter says to the M.J. in his mind and then promptly decides he’s finally lost it.

It’s strange, Peter thinks. As Spider-man, he’s not shy. He’s loud, speaks his mind, tells jokes. As Peter Parker, he doesn’t do that.

He decides he can’t possibly make life any worse and goes calm.

“Hey, Flame-brain,” he says, webbing Mysterio to the wall. “Fancy meeting you again.”

Johnny rolls his eyes at the nickname. Mysterio rips off the webbing and lands flat on his face. Peter would laugh, except one of the illusions gets him in the stomach and he wheezes. Johnny kicks it away before arching an eyebrow.

Peter rolls his eyes (not that anyone can tell under the mask) and webs one that was about to stab Johnny in the back. Johnny looks surprised, his mouth dropping into an O shape before he shoots fire blasts at Mysterio, who in the chaos was trying to escape.

Peter webs him to the wall again, and this time makes sure he stays put.

Johnny high fives him. “That was amazing! We should team up more often.”

“Yeah,” he finds himself saying. “Yeah, we should. We probably set the record for fastest Mysterio arrest.” He grins and goes in for the fist bump Johnny offers him.

“We should have a cool catchphrase! What about like, a combo attack? Flaming web? Spider fire? Fl—”

Mysterio cuts Johnny off by groaning. “The two of you should have never met,” he growls. “Neither of you will shut up.”

Peter responds by webbing his mouth closed.

“At least you can,” he says, all Spider-man cockiness and flippant jokes.

Johnny snickers behind his hand. Peter smirks at him (not visible under the mask) and hears the sirens that mean the police are arriving.

He swings up to the top of the nearest building to watch the arrest. Johnny follows him, and they settle on the roof.

“How’s the chest?” Johnny asks, pointing to where the gash had been. Peter explains the healing factor.

He makes a face. “Wish I had a healing factor.” Peter laughs.

“Wanna grab a hotdog?” Peter asks. He feels good. He feels alive. In the heat of the moment, he forgets what he was panicking about before. _You hit the jackpot, tiger_ , he can imagine M.J. saying. Johnny nods, and they leap off the building together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> peter is a dumb boi and I love him so much


	4. drop down to the coast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a chapter entirely from Johnny's point of view! 
> 
> “So,” Johnny says carefully, “I never did get your name.” He knows how protective Spider-man is of his identity. He’d seen it first hand when he’d woken up in Baxter Building, mask off. Peter stiffens beside him. “You don’t have to tell me,” he rushes to say, internally screaming. “It’s ok. I get it—”  
> “It’s Peter.” Johnny finally takes his eyes off the hotdog. “Peter Parker,” Spider-man finishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for 200+ kudos you guys! I never thought this story would get that many. Thanks for all the love and support. Your comments bring me so much joy :) Here's a chapter full of more dumb boys pining! Next chapter is going to have more drama tho
> 
> again, pls talk to me on tumblr! Im very open to prompts

 

The hotdog vendor eyes them warily as they bite down. He hands them napkins with a sigh.

Johnny moans appreciatively, and Peter beams under the mask. They pick a spot on a roof to watch New York and continue snacking.

“So,” Johnny says carefully, “I never did get your name.” He knows how protective Spider-man is of his identity. He’d seen it first hand when he’d woken up in Baxter Building, mask off. Peter stiffens beside him. “You don’t have to tell me,” he rushes to say, internally screaming. “It’s ok. I get it—”

“It’s Peter.” Johnny finally takes his eyes off the hotdog. “Peter Parker,” Spider-man finishes.

“The photographer? From the Daily Bugle? That’s you? The one who takes pictures of Spider-man—” He cuts himself off to stare at Peter.

Peter shrugs. “I do need to pay rent.”

Johnny remains silent for a second, before cracking a grin. “Peter Parker, huh? Who would have thought.”

He’d never seen Peter Parker, only heard of him briefly when Reed had wanted to track down Spider-man. Peter Parker, he’d said, was the best Spider-man tracker around. Huh. No wonder.

“You can’t tell anyone,” Peter says abruptly, breaking him out of his reverie. Johnny nods. “You can trust me,” he replies.

He gets a thumbs-up and a fist bump in response. There’s an explosion behind them, and Peter crams the last of the hotdog in his mouth and slides the mask down over his nose, where he’d had it partially on.

“C’mon, sidekick,” he yells as he leaps off the roof.

Johnny snorts. “Who’s the sidekick here? I very clearly remember rescuing you from the alley.”

Peter huffs. “Well who almost got stabbed by Mysterio?” he asks, leaping from web to web. “Sure as hell wasn’t me.”

Johnny laughs, bright and loud. _That’s it_ , he thinks. _Sue was wrong. There’s no way this is Norman Osborn’s murderer._

There were tons of articles (mostly from the Daily Bugle) about Spider-man. Some good, some bad (actually a few good, mostly bad). There was a long list of crimes he’d been accused of. Sue’s voice rings in his head. _Do you trust him, Johnny?_ Yes, yes, he does.

He follows Peter into Times Square to face Electro, who’d been the source of the explosions. Looks like New York was going to be busy tonight.

\-----------------------------

The fight wraps up quickly. Peter’s rubbing at his jaw, which is probably purple from the rather impressive punch Electro had managed to land. Johnny raises an eyebrow. “Sidekick,” he smirks, pointing at Peter. Peter webs his hand to the fire hydrant. Johnny sticks his tongue out at him, before burning the web fluid away. “Show off,” he hears Peter mutter.

Elector was in custody, so Johnny isn’t surprised when Peter turns and says, “Time to head home?”

Johnny nods. Spider-man sticks out his arm and presses the web shooters. Nothing comes out. He tries again. Still nothing. Peter’s hunched over the thing now, pressing like there’s no tomorrow.

“This can’t be happening,” Peter whispers franticly. “I just refilled these!” A final glob of web fluid shoots out and smacks him in the face. He wrenches it off, flailing.

“Not a word,” he says darkly, glaring at Johnny. “Not a word.”

He mimes locking his lips, then starts laughing. He can’t help it.

When he’s finally done losing it, he wipes away the tears from the corners of his eyes. “Need a ride?”

Peter cracks a grin and agrees.

Johnny grabs him by the armpits and they soar through the air. Peter laughs nervously. “You won’t burn me, right?” Johnny just grips him tighter and tries to keep his tone light. “Yeah, probably.”

“What do you mean, probably.”

Johnny doesn’t answer. “What did you say your address was again?”

Peter rattles it off, and they fly.

They reach an apartment complex in Queens. They make sure no one’s watching, and then Johnny raises him up to the window of his apartment. He opens the window and tumbles in, Johnny following. Peter dusts himself off.

“Hey, I owe you one for dropping me off. Want to stay for a bit? I can make a mean omelet.”

Johnny miraculously doesn’t go beet red, and stutters through a yes. Thankfully Peter’s back is turned, and he’s stripping off the Spider-man costume to change into sweats.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t look. If he wasn’t beet red before, he definitely is now. He gets another view of the abs (they looked as inhuman as last time) and the gash, which while healed, has left a pink scar. Actually, there are a lot of scars. But Pete’s made of tough stuff, so he doesn’t worry. Peter pulls a sweater over his head and Johnny snaps his head to the side when he turns around, pretending to be fiddling with the camera.

“You can look through it,” Peter says, and Johnny smiles, turning it on.

He flips through various pictures of Spider-man as they walk to the kitchen. Which is a mess, by the way. Peter opens the fridge and there’s a couple of eggs, a questionable looking carrot, and a jar of mayonnaise that looks a thousand years old. Johnny figures that if Peter doesn’t attempt to feed him the mayonnaise things will be alright. He continues flicking through the pictures.

There’s a lot of a redheaded lady, smiling at the camera. She’s very pretty. There are some of a blond guy wearing Spidey merch, smirking at the camera. An older lady grins from the screen as well. She’s sitting at a table with a cake that says _Happy Birthday Aunt May_ in pink icing.

There’s one of the back of someone’s head in front of the Oscorp logo. He’s got the same haircut as Norman’s son, which seems a little strange.

He flicks through the rest of the photos. There’s a silver-haired woman with a cunning smile, an older picture of a blonde girl holding a diploma with the name Gwen Stacy on it, a photo of Jameson smiling (smiling?!?), and a few of the New York city skyline. The photos are Peter’s life, he thinks. He wishes he was in one of them. The pictures are mostly of Spider-man though, bold and bright.

Peter notices him smiling at an older picture of the blonde lady and the redhead with Aunt May. He sets the omelet down in front of Johnny and takes the camera. Before Johnny can react, he snaps a picture. It’s like he read Johnny’s mind.

“There,” he says, handing the camera back. “Now you’re in it too.”

Johnny grins and continues scrolling, shoveling the omelet into his mouth. It’s surprisingly good.

He pauses when he gets to one of himself. It’s not the one Peter had just snapped; it’s one of him fighting from earlier today. He looks heroic, shining. He glances up at Peter, who looks embarrassed.

“It was a good snap,” he says, like he’s trying to cover up something. He’s turning red though, and Johnny is getting more confused.

“It’s a nice picture!” he says, probably with more enthusiasm than necessary, but he wants to diffuse the situation. “Hey, I should hire you to be my private photographer. You already know my angles—”

Peter elbows him, laughing. Johnny raises the camera and clicks. The resulting photo is rather cute; Peter looks happy, laughing wide and carefree. He’s just as handsome as he’d been in the alley, and in the Baxter building, wearing Johnny’s clothes.

“You’ve got too many pictures of Spider-man and none of yourself,” he proclaims. “Now you’ve got one of Peter Parker.”

Peter goes red again. Johnny thinks he might be red too. He will be if Peter smiles at him again.

Peter takes the camera back slowly, before holding it out again. “Let’s take one together,” he says. So, they take a selfie, Peter in a ratty sweater and Johnny in his Fantastic Four costume together in Peter’s messy kitchen, with its fading wallpaper and dim light bulbs. It’s perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to whoever can identify all the characters in Peter's camera, you get a virtual cookie  
> pls tell me if I left someone out who you thought should be there


	5. everything in between

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They sit in silence for a bit, before Johnny gets up the courage to ask him what’s wrong.   
> Peter presses his lips together, then shakes his head.   
> “Hey,” Johnny says softly, because he’s never seen him like this and he’s scared. “It’s all right, man. No pressure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a month oh my gosh  
> I'm finally back to updating on this fic!!! thanks to all u lovelies who have waited :)

Johnny heads home after finishing the omelet, heart going a million miles per hour and a stupid smile on his face. He lets himself into the Baxter Building and sprawls out on one of the sofas, folding his arms behind his head and daydreaming.

Ben walks in and swats at him with the newspaper, and raises an eyebrow (well, Johnny assumes he raises an eyebrow, it’s more like a shifting of some of the rocks above his eye) when he doesn’t get attacked in return.

“You’re in a good mood,” he says, suspicion clear in his tone. “Did you hack my twitter again? Mess with the fridge?”

“Nope,” Johnny says, popping the p. Ben’s eyebrow (rockbrow? eyerock? whatever) goes even higher.

“I mean it,” Johnny says, swinging his torso over so that he’s sitting on the sofa and not sprawled on it.

“I don’t trust you, squirt,” Ben grumbles, but turns away towards the kitchen nevertheless.

Sue does a double take when she sees him as well. Apparently, he can’t be happy without also being up to no good. She immediately stalks over and asks him if he’s pulled another prank on Ben. When he denies it, she stares before the corners of her lips start to peek up.

“You’re crushing on someone,” she says, the delight in her tone obvious. She glances at Johnny’s face as she scrolls through her tablet and snorts. “Please, you pulled that same face back when you were gone over—what was her name? Crystal?”

“That was ages ago, Sue, like a billion years—"

“Who is it?”, she barrels on, fire in her eyes. “You haven’t mentioned anyone…You’ve only been going on about Spider-man.” The realization dawns in her eyes.  She puts the tablet down. “Spiderman,” she repeats, this time her tone slightly disbelieving. When Johnny doesn’t deny it, she buries her head in her hands.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Johnny.” She runs a hand through her hair.

“What?” Johnny blurts out (instead of denying it, because he sucks at espionage. This is why they never use him for undercover missions). “He seems like a nice guy! We hung out for a bit.”

Sue’s expression darkens. “And what were you doing, exactly?”

“Oh, you know, crime fighting, grabbing food.”

“Remember when I mentioned he was a killer? A vigilante? Does that ring any bells?”

“Alleged,” Johnny tries. “Alleged killer.” Sue’s glare reaches epic proportions.

“I’m just trying to keep you safe. I don’t know why you insist on making that so hard.”

“He’s not going to kill me, jeez!”

“I don’t trust him. Half of the hero community doesn’t trust him!”

“It’s just because of those stupid tabloid articles—”

“No,” Sue growls finally. “This is for your own good, Johnny. Don’t talk to him.”

They’re yelling at each other by now, and Ben and Reed must have heard, because they’ve suddenly appeared. Reed puts his hand on Sue’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze.

“You don’t know him, Johnny.” Sue’s gone quieter now, but the core of steel is still here. “You don’t know him.”

Reed squeezes her shoulder again. “She’s right, Johnny.”

Johnny looks towards Ben for support.

“Sorry, hothead,” Ben shrugs.

Johnny huffs and turns away, grumbling under his breath. He can hear Reed comforting Sue, with Ben’s occasional rumbled input, but he doesn’t stay. The small core of anger sits like a rock in his stomach.

He goes up to his room. He flops on the bed dramatically. He gets out his phone, going through twitter. He scrolls through the posts tagged #spiderman and thinks about all the ways Peter’s defied all his expectations.

Eventually, he gets finds the @spiderwatcher account. It updates Spider-man’s location whenever he shows up. He finds some pictures of himself on there, from the fight earlier. None of them are as good as Peter’s though. He takes a moment to appreciate that Sue and Reed aren’t very active on twitter, otherwise he’d never hear the end of this.

He falls asleep wishing he could change Sue’s mind.

He wakes up in the morning with a crick in his neck and a dozen notifications on his phone. All of them are from the various spider-man accounts he’s started following. He clicks on one of them and finds posts about Spider-man’s current fight with Electro, it looks like.

He’s in the costume a minute later and out the window in two.

Peter’s already wrapped up the fight by the time he gets there, so Johnny’s wasted a dramatic entrance. He figures he’s fashionably late, which is just as good.

Spider-man’s finished turning Electro over to the police, and he turns to give Johnny his attention, seeming faintly surprised.

“How’d you find me?” he asks.

_I’ve been stalking you on Twitter_ doesn’t seem like an appropriate response, so instead he just shrugs.

“Followed the explosions,” he says. “You don’t have the best record for property damage.” He can practically hear Jameson yelling about it.

Peter groans. “Hey, I have a better record than the Avengers. Captain America could take out a whole building and he wouldn’t get in trouble. Jameson calls me a criminal mastermind if I knock over a mailbox.”

Johnny laughs. “I’ve accidently set a building on fire once. Didn’t get in trouble though.”

Peter throws his hands in the air. He mutters something about PR and insurance. The reporters who have arrived on the scene are milling around. Johnny doesn’t give them much thought, instead breaking Peter’s tirade about property damage and pointing to the statue of liberty. He can’t really see Peter grin through the mask, but he knows it’s happening, so they end up on Lady Liberty’s torch.

That becomes a pattern. Johnny begins leaving flaming messages in the sky, and Peter often joins him in watching the New York skyline.

\-----------------------------------------------

M.J. calls. She tells him he sounds happier lately, asks for May’s meatloaf recipe (why? It’s basically a biohazard) and demands to know who he’s been homewrecking.

Peter splutters and M.J. laughs at him. “We both know you never go the easy route, tiger,” she grins. “So, tell me. Who are you homewrecking?”

“I’m not—I’m not homewrecking anyone. Crime has just been down lately,” he lies. About the crime, not the homewrecking.

She hums, clearly not believing him. “So, you weren’t going to tell me that the Human Torch is now your best bud, huh?”

“He’s just a friend, M.J.”

M.J. makes an exaggerated sigh. Peter contemplates banging his head against his desk.

They chat for a little while longer. Peter will admit he misses her, but this was probably for the best. She’s his best friend, and anything more had been too much. She’d been too much for him, and Spider-man had been too much for her.

She asks about Jonah, and Peter just groans and lets his head hit the desk after all.

He hangs up on her laughing at him.

\---------------------------------------------------

Sue and the rest of his family haven’t figured out just how much he’s been with Peter, and he’s fine with that. In fact, they’ve gotten in the habit of hanging out in his room, when the rooftops of the city and the Statue of Liberty are too wet with rain to be enjoyable. They don’t go to Peter’s place, because Peter’s identity would suffer if either hero (hero and vigilante) was caught in his apartment.

One night, Peter stumbles in through the window at 3am, and Johnny’s not really surprised anymore. It happens at least twice a week, so he just sits up in bed and raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

Peter just sighs and shrugs. That’s when Johnny notices he’s dripping water. He’s soaking wet, like someone dunked him in the Hudson. Johnny throws off the covers and curses when he trips on them, landing into Peter’s arms. (Peter’s wet, cold arms.)

“What did you do,” he asks, muffled in Peter’s grip, “go for a swim?”

“My webshooter got jammed when I was going over the bridge,” Peter says, sounding off.

He gets Peter into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, and then maneuvers them so that they’re sitting on the bed. Peter’s cold still, shivering, so Johnny sighs and raises his own body temperature. Peter leans on him, grateful for the heat. He catches himself carding his fingers through Peter’s hair. Peter doesn’t seem to notice though, so he continues. He should be stoked, he’s got his crush in his bed, but something seems wrong.

They sit in silence for a bit, before Johnny gets up the courage to ask him what’s wrong.

Peter presses his lips together, then shakes his head.

“Hey,” Johnny says softly, because he’s never seen him like this and he’s scared. “It’s all right, man. No pressure.”

They sit there for a bit longer, until Peter shifts and starts falling forwards, and Johnny realizes he’s fallen asleep. So, he just pushes Peter under the covers because he’s too heavy to move (so much muscle) and because he doesn’t have the heart to wake him up.

Peter keeps shivering though, so he slips under the covers as well and stays warm. He’s pretty sure Peter’s going to freak out about this later, because he’s gonna wake up in Johnny’s bed next to Johnny (although the few who have had the privilege had been very vocal to the press about how nice it was) but for now he figures its better than letting him freeze.

He falls asleep, fingers curled around one of Peter’s numb hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come harass me on tumblr, I have the same username


	6. just take my hand, and come with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter wakes up warm and comfortable. He just lies there for a moment, soaking in the warmth. Then he notices the distinct feeling of someone’s hands in his, and he nearly falls out of the bed. He jerks forward, sitting up and taking in Johnny’s bedroom. He’s a little shocked. Right, he remembers coming through the window, soaked to the bone. He’d fallen into the Hudson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been forever i'm so sorry

Peter dreams of falling. He dreams of clocktowers and midnight and someone holding his hand.

He wakes up warm and comfortable. He just lies there for a moment, soaking in the warmth. Then he notices the distinct feeling of someone’s hands in his, and he nearly falls out of the bed. He jerks forward, sitting up and taking in Johnny’s bedroom. He’s a little shocked. Right, he remembers coming through the window, soaked to the bone. He’d fallen into the Hudson.

Of course, he thinks, Johnny’s solution to the problem would be to let someone he’s known for a couple of months sleep in his bed. He’s careless like that.

He himself had been careless that night. There were a lot of reasons for it, and he doesn’t want to think about it. He firmly puts all thoughts pertaining to yesterday out of his mind.

He dimly realizes he’s still holding Johnny’s hand. Something in him tells him not to let go. Instead he just shifts so he can look at Johnny, sprawled across the sheets, looking like something out of a fairy tale. His hair shines in the rays of sunlight coming through the window, turning it into gold. He’s glowing. Peter’s no stranger to love, to attraction. It still catches him off guard.

It fills him with fear. Here, he thinks, is another person he can lose.

The fear fills his chest with something slippery and icy, something he can’t name. It’s a shadow of what he felt yesterday, swinging without looking at where he was going in an attempt to run away from memories that he will never, ever, not until the end of time, forget.

Johnny shifts, breaking him out of his reverie. He curls closer to Peter, mumbling something incoherent.

Something clicks. He’d rather have this, than shut another person out in a pointless attempt to protect them.

He pulls his hand out of Johnny’s lax grip and shakes him gently.

Johnny mutters something unflattering under his breath, still very much asleep. Peter shakes him harder, and he shoots up, sputtering.

“I swear, Sue, I’m up—”

He notes Peter sitting next to him, looking rather amused, and gapes for a second, before remembering last night.

 _Act cool,_ he tells himself. _After all, you were the one that created this…situation._

 “Are you feeling better?” he asks, instead of pulling the sheets over his head in embarrassment.

Peter nods.

“Are you sure you’re feeling better?”

“Yup.”

“Did you…hit your head? Do you have a concussion?”

“Uh. No?”

 _Then what are you doing,_ Johnny wonders internally. _Why are you so calm about this?_

Peter leans against the headboard. Johnny mirrors him, glancing at Peter from the corner of his eye. He’s not pale anymore, but the look of something close to despair and not-quite grief is still in his eyes.

“Hey,” Johnny manages. “What happened last night?”

“I wasn’t being careful.” Peter sounds like he’s stumbling over the words, so he asks quietly, “Because?”

Peter’s head slowly hits the headboard with a resounding _thunk._ He presses his lips together and closes his eyes. He keeps them closed when he starts talking again, picturing Gwen.

“Someone I was close to died, a few years back. Yesterday would have been her birthday. She knew I was Spider-man, and it got her killed.”

Silence. There isn’t a lot Johnny can think of to say to that. It explains last night though, and how drained Peter had looked. He opens his mouth, then closes it.

“I loved her,” Peter says, and he curls up, so his arms are around his legs and his chin rests on his knees.

“Her name was Gwen, and I’m the reason she’s dead.” The rest of the story comes out, about broken clocktowers and laughing goblins. It’s the blond girl from Peter’s camera, the one in the older pictures, smiling out of every frame.

“Hey,” Johnny repeats, when Peter’s finished. “Look at me.” Peter obliges, looking thoroughly wrecked.

“It wasn’t your fault. You tried your best to save her. Green Goblin killed her, not you. You don’t deserve the blame for that night.” 

Peter curls up further, pressing his face into his knees. Johnny places a hand on his back, hoping to be comforting. He keeps going, letting Peter know exactly what he thinks of his guilt.They sit there for a bit, before Peter unfurls himself and leans against the headboard again.

“Thanks, Johnny.” Peter looks relieved, almost. “Sorry for barging in last night,” he adds.

“It’s no problem.” It comes out serious, and Peter tilts his head. “I’m your friend,” Johnny says. “This is what I’m here for.”

Peter grins at him, bright and full.

“Except for one thing. You keep ruining our carpet,” Johnny says in an attempt to lighten the mood. “First blood, now river water. Reed tried inventing something to get your bloodstains out of the carpet, but he just ended up setting it on fire.”

Peter groans, before suddenly jerking forward. “If he ever gets that formula to work, Johnny, you have to tell me. Do you know how hard it is to get blood out of the suit?” It comes out rather manic, but he is rather desperate.

Johnny looks slightly afraid, but he nods anyway. They lapse into silence again.

Peter starts leaning towards the headboard again, but this time it’s accompanied with a yawn. Johnny looks at the clock on his bedside table.

“It’s six a.m. We can catch some more sleep.” Peter nods, before getting cut off by another yawn.

They fall asleep again, before Johnny can think better of it. What if Sue finds them? What if Peter is uncomfortable in his bed? There are so many what-ifs, but they all end up forgotten for the comforts of his bed.

…

Peter wakes up to the sound of Sue making breakfast, which is probably a warning sign that he needs to leave. He gets up to head to the window but discovers that Johnny’s hand has somehow ended up in his again. He pries the fingers off, and almost makes it to the window before turning back. He doesn’t want another missed chance. He’s had so many of them. (The chance to save Ben. The chance to save Gwen. The list goes on.)

Peter gently ruffles Johnny’s hair, before bringing the hand that isn’t being held to his face. He cups Johnny’s cheek in his hand, running his thumb over the cheekbone.

His eyes crack open, and he blearily looks up at Peter. His eyes widen in surprise, and he brings up a hand to Peter’s wrist on his cheek. Johnny swallows.

“What are you doing,” he says, softly, suddenly alert.

“One more thing I wanted to tell you.”

Johnny sits up, stretching and blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “Yeah?”

Peter puts both his hands on Johnny’s cheeks, before going in for the kiss.

Johnny goes still under his hands, before kissing back. His hands go to Peter’s hair, and time freezes for a minute. There’s nothing but the two of them.

Peter pulls back and smiles. Johnny’s turned red, and his eyes are wide open.

“I love you, Torch.”

Johnny goes in for another kiss, and then they break apart.

“Wow,” Johnny breathes after a second.

“Wow? Way to ruin the moment, jeez.”

“You’re the one who suddenly kissed me!”

“You kissed back!”

They’re interrupted by Sue’s sudden voice. “Johnny, is everything alright? Breakfast is ready!” she yells from the kitchen.

“You should go,” Johnny whisper-shouts. “If she catches us, she’ll kill me _and_ you.”

Peter goes pale at the thought, as he should. Because Sue is terrifying.

“I’ll see you around?”

Johnny nods, unable to contain his grin.

Peter slides on the costume as fast as he can and then leaps out the window, swinging out of sight.

Johnny flops back onto his bed, heart thumping in his chest. Sue’s footsteps on the stairs make him turn around, and then she’s standing in his doorway.

“Is something wrong?” she asks, brow furrowed. “You’re never late for breakfast.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he manages, but he sounds suspicious enough that she gives him a once-over before sighing and heading back down the stairs.

“Are you sure?” she calls over her shoulder.

“Of course,” he yells back, hoping she doesn’t call him out on his terrible lying skills. “I’m peachy!” He’s more than peachy. He’s flying so high in the clouds that no spaceship Reed could ever build could bring him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was written in one day, partially at 1 am. the things i do for this ship.
> 
> pls let me know what you thought!
> 
> and pls talk to me on tumblr, i get lonely. i have the same username!

**Author's Note:**

> as always validation is appreciated


End file.
